“Ruby Slippers” Set to Fetch $3 Million at Auction

Famous Footwear: the ruby slippers Dorothy (Judy Garland) wore in the "Wizard of Oz" Photo: Profiles in History

Los Angeles—With the clicking of her heels at the end of her adventures in the merry old land of Oz, Dorothy Gale returned home to rest in the hearts of millions thanks to MGM’s iconic 1939 film, “The Wizard of Oz.”

Now those sparkling ruby slippers, believed to be the ones Judy Garland wore when she filmed the scene of her return to Kansas, are set to be auctioned off December 16 as part of Profiles in History’s Hollywood memorabilia sales. According to the California auction house, the shoes could fetch between $2 million to $3 million.

“This is the most important film prop in the world. There is nothing more famous,” Profiles in History owner Joe Maddalena told Reuters. “They are one of the greatest pieces of pop culture in existence.”

World’s Most Famous Footwear?

The auction house said the shoes are in mint condition, except for light scuffs on the soles. They are marked “#7 Judy Garland” on the inside lining and the leather soles are painted red.

According to the auction house, the red-sequined shoes were reportedly found on the MGM lot in the early 1970s and were sold at auction in 1988 to a private collector. One of the other remaining pairs is on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of History in Washington, a second is in the hands of a private owner and the third was stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, in 2005.

If the shoes do indeed fetch $3 million they would exceed the price of commemorative ruby slippers that Harry Winston created to celebrated the 50th anniversary of the film. Instead of being made of red sequins like Garland’s though, the Winston ruby slippers were encrusted with 4,600 rubies (1,350 carats as well as 50 carats of diamonds).